It’s no secret that the reactions to Niantic’s adjustments to Remote Raids have been… vocal. The events of 2020 changed how players could interact with Pokemon Go, and the implementation was a fix to help people continue to enjoy the game they love so much.
But, in Niantic’s announcement in 2023, the company outlined that it was restricting how many Remote Raids players could participate in down to just five, raising the price of Remote Raid passes, and working to focus on in-person events that incentivized people to go outdoors again and play with others.
While many players have different arguments against the changes — including the fact that both disabled and extremely rural players who could finally enjoy the game more were now back to square one — it seems that overall the changes have had the desired effect.
Pokemon Go director Michael Steranka sat down with Dot Esports at Pokemon Go Fest Madrid 2024, and when questioned on the effects of the Remote Raid changes, Steranka said, “I will say what we found after we made that change is exactly what we were hoping for.”
Continuing, Steranka told Dot Esports, “We’ve seen more in-person communities coming back together again… those local communities are flourishing in a way that we haven’t seen since pre-pandemic.”
Later in the interview, Steranka explained that the changes were “super painful” even for him, but he explained further that the move away from Remote Raids “in hindsight, was definitely the right decision.” In this piece, Steranka also commented on the current state of paid tickets, which you can read here.
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The writer behind the interview — Adam Newell — also shared the article on Reddit, and the response has unsurprisingly been animated. Commenting on the idea that Remote Raid changes have brought back in-person communities, one person said, “My community has not “revitalized”. Definitely raiding much less.”
Another comment added, “Revitalized a few communities, which in turn killed significantly more…. Literally my irl community does not exist. Remotes was the only way for me to have that “interaction” with people.”
Not every comment was negative though, as one person argued for the changes, saying, “Unpopular opinion, but this is what made our community get back up, somewhat. Before, there was nobody raiding in person. Now you can at least find a couple of people and arrange raids, especially during events.”
Fans may never completely align with Niantic’s decisions for Pokemon Go, but it seems the company is at least trying to ensure the mobile title continues to inspire players to explore and seek out local communities to share their experiences.
If you want to enjoy the latest that Pokemon Go has to offer, be sure to check out our guides covering the Shared Skies season, the Scorching Steps event, and the opportunity to bag yourself a Legendary Shiny with Mega Rayquaza Raids.
